Affiliations: [a] EPIUnit - Instituto de Saúde Pública, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal
| [b]
Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), Barcelona, Spain
| [c] Departamento de Ciências da Saúde Pública e Forenses e Educação Médica, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal
Correspondence:
[*]
Address for correspondence: Joana Amaro, EPIUnit - Instituto de Saúde Pública da Universidade do Porto (ISPUP), Rua das Taipas n 135, 4050-600 Porto, Portugal. Tel.: +351 222 061 820; Fax: +351 222 061 821; E-mail: joana.amaro@ispup.up.pt.
Abstract: BACKGROUND:Beyond the health-enhancing effects, work also has the potential of causing or worsening different health conditions in the same individual. However, research on within-worker aggregation of work-related health problems is scarce. OBJECTIVE:To describe the history and aggregation of work-related health problems in a population-based sample of women. METHODS:A total of 4330 women were asked whether they had ever had “a physical or mental health problem that was caused or made worse by your work”. The aggregation of work-related health problems was assessed using an exploratory factor analysis. RESULTS:Five groups were identified. Factor 1 included all items on musculoskeletal disorders - lower socioeconomic position, higher BMI, smokers and history of occupational accidents. Factor 2 included mental disorders together with headache and/or eyestrain - higher socioeconomic position. Factor 3 included the other disorders item with some loading from digestive disorders - older and public sector workers. Factor 4 included respiratory disorders - lower socioeconomic position and history of occupational accidents. Factor 5 included hearing and ear problems - blue-collar workers. CONCLUSION:There was a relevant aggregation of work-related health problems, which may inform the selection of specific components for interventions that aim to improve women’s work-related health.
